Thursday, October 25, 2012 -- Life With God In Recovery -- Step One -- I Can't Do It Alone

Step One:  We ADMITTED that we were powerless over our dependencies, that our lives had become unmanageable.

It is natural to want to be in control of our life and our circumstances.  We don’t want pain and sadness from our past to overwhelm us.  We want to be prepared for events in the future so we are not surprised in a harmful way.  We want to feel good, be happy, and live free at all times.  However, there comes a time in many of our lives when we realize that this is just not possible.  We find ourselves with no way out but to admit defeat.

It can be a moment of self-pity or it can be an opportunity for finally beginning to live as we were created to live—in relationship with God our Saviour.  We can give in to despair or surrender to loving control and new direction from the God who cares for us more than we care for ourselves.  We need help from someone outside of ourselves and the only way to get it is to call out to God.  Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my body is in agony.  I am sick at heart ... Return, O Lord, and rescue me. Save me because of Your unfailing love … I am worn out from sobbing. Every night tears drench my bed; my pillow is wet from weeping. (Psalm 6:6 NIV)

For all of us there comes a moment when we can no longer avoid the horrible realization that things are just a mess.  When we come to these moments of brokenness and helplessness and finally admit that all is not well, we have a choice to make.  We can try even harder to avoid the pain and hopelessness or we can step out into freedom.  How?  We must admit that these habits are harming us rather than helping us. They are not solving problems but creating many more.  We must admit defeat, admit we can’t do things on our own and admit we need help.  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  (Romans 3:23 NLT)

The good news is that our helpless condition is not a surprise to God.  He knows that we fall short when we try to do things on our own and He stands ready to help us chart a new course and find a new life.  When we clear the lie out of the way that addictive behaviours are helping us, God is able to show us that there are two powers active in our world, seeking to influence us: the devil, who is seeking to bring us to harm and God, who is seeking to bring us to life.  Jesus said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10)  We are not left dangling helplessly between the two but we have been given power to choose whose power to embrace as the controlling influence for us – destructive evil compulsions or God’s loving power and control.   There is no neutral ground.  We have a choice to make.